On Thursday, 17 July, five of us were
lucky enough to visit several libraries in Cambridge and meet their graduate
trainees. Last year’s London trainees did a similar trip to Oxford, and I hope
future years’ trainees will get this opportunity as well. Not only was it nice
to get out of London and see another city, we also were able to learn about the
unique features of working in libraries that are often a mix of centuries-old
books and architecture, and very modern buildings and services. In some ways, I
found the Cambridge libraries to be a lot like my workplace, the Courtauld
Institute’s Book Library.
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| The outside of the Wren Library, Trinity College |
Trinity College
We began our day at 11am at Trinity
College. The graduate trainee, Harriet, was kind enough to come in on her day
off to give us a tour. She walked us through the impressive First Court, past
the steady stream of awed tourists. Of course, most of the students were
already finished for the academic year, and there were only a few dotted around
the grounds and the library. We entered the library from the newer section and
wound our way through the stacks and student study areas to the entrance of the
impressive Wren Library, completed in 1695. This was certainly the most typical
example of what one would expect of an old Cambridge college library; a
beautiful arched ceiling, scholars working silently, and shelves full of antiquarian books and manuscripts. Within the display cases on either side of the central
aisle were gems from the collection such as a first edition from Sir Isaac
Newton (with an annotated title page adding the ‘Sir’ once he was knighted),
A.A. Milne’s manuscripts of his Winnie-the-Pooh books, and a special exhibition
created by Harriet and other library staff focussing on the college and library
during WWI.
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| St. John's College |
St. John’s College
Our next stop was St. John’s College,
where we were met by graduate trainee Charlotte. Despite the similar look of
the college itself, the ‘Working Library’ as it is called, was very different
from the older libraries of Cambridge. Built in 1994, the Working Library has
all the modern features one would expect from a university library. For
instance, students can gain access 24 hours a day, using their cards to gain
entry outside staffed hours. The building is full of natural light and feels
very spacious, but also allows for quiet, secluded study spaces. Looking around
their new acquisitions displays and audio-visual collection, I was impressed
by their large selection of both academic and non-academic items. The Working
Library is connected to the ‘Old Library’, staffed by a Special Collections Librarian
who supervises the Reading Room on the ground floor. The Old Library’s first
floor is smaller than the Wren, but just as impressive. It is lined with
beautifully carved shelves, which even have the old library catalogue hand-written on
to fold-out panels on the front of each bay, a snapshot of the library as it
once was. Each graduate trainee is able to create an exhibition, and
Charlotte’s, which is entitled ‘Blancmange to make, Blisters to draw’, has been
receiving attention from the media thanks to the publicity help of her
colleague. Having done her masters dissertation on early modern medical
recipes, Charlotte decided to curate the exhibition on this topic.
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| The Old Library, St. John's College |
Christ’s College
Our last stop before lunch was
Christ’s College. Graduate trainee Lucy first took us to the separate Law
Library, nestled on the side of the Porter’s Lodge, and then to the main
Working Library. Built in the 1970’s, the Working Library is less
architecturally stunning than the first two libraries, but they offer services
such as ‘Squash O’Clock’ where library staff provide squash and biscuits for
students near the library entrance during exam times. One of the features of
the collection is the music hire library, one of the largest collections of
borrowable music in Cambridge. The Old Library was designed by architect G.F.
Bodley in the 1890's, although a small section dates from 1505 when the college
was founded. The collection includes six first editions of Paradise Lost by
Christ’s College alumnus John Milton, and a first edition of On the Origin of
Species and letters from alumnus Charles Darwin to his cousin, William Darwin Fox. Lucy’s
exhibition is in the Old Library and explores the link between the college and
American alumni and investors. Besides the American flag bunting decorating the
room, we were also shown unique library items such as sixteenth-century
mummified rats, which were found in the walls during a library renovation. The
rats were kept for anatomical study because of their exceptionally long tails, which indicated they were genetically interesting specimens.
On that appetising note, we headed off
in search of lunch.
Pembroke College
Our first stop after lunch was
Pembroke College’s libraries. The Old Library was designed in 1875 by Alfred
Waterhouse (architect of the Natural History Museum in London), and the modern
additions such as the Law Library and Yamada Reading Room were added in 2001 by
local architect Tristan Rees-Roberts. Graduate Trainee Sarah took us through
the library, beginning with the newly added collection from the library of art
historian Tom Rosenthal. The beautiful stained glass of the old and new
libraries, and the views of the peaceful, leafy ground make for the ideal place
to read and study. I felt that this library presented the best mix of old and
new of any of the libraries. The Yamada Reading Room is a real gem, with modern
stained glass windows on one side featuring poems from former Pembroke College student
Ted Hughes.
The Classical Faculty Library
Our second visit of the afternoon was
to the only faculty library on our list, the Classics Library. Graduate trainee
Emily, who also kindly organised our Cambridge visit, showed us the modern
building and its collection. Although there were less of the interesting
architectural features and rare books of the college libraries, Emily’s tour
gave us the best sense of the day-to-day workings of a Cambridge library. The
first floor of the Classics building holds the Museum of Classical Archaeology,
which features casts of a multitude of classical sculptures, an exhibition of
modern art inspired by the casts, and lots of features for school visits.
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| Newnham College |
Newnham College
Our final stop was Newnham College,
originally the only college or faculty library women were allowed to use, and currently
still a women-only college. Unfortunately, the graduate trainee at Newnham
library, Meriel, was not able to be there on the day, so we were kindly offered
a tour by the library assistant on duty. The ‘old’ part of the library is
actually relatively new, as it was built in 1897. It was expanded in 2004 and
is now a graceful mix of old and modern features. There are study spaces with
views out through the large arched windows of the old library on to the
beautiful grounds. In addition to an impressive collection of books from all
disciplines, the library also has turn-of-the-century illustrated children’s
books. I only glanced the spines of some of these on a closed access shelf, but
even those were beautifully embossed. Meriel’s exhibition is on the theme of
‘All creatures great and small’ featuring zoological and botanical
illustrations. As an illustrator, the Newnham’s collection really appealed to
me, and I was especially drawn to a small selection of ukiyo-e prints hanging on the walls of a darkened hallway. Our tour
guide finished by showing us the grounds and pointing us in the direction of
the old laboratories. Having had a look at this building, we headed back
towards the city centre and met some of the Cambridge graduate trainees.
Thank you to Mike and graduate trainee Emily for organising the visit, and to the Cambridge graduate trainees for giving
us tours!
Photos by Bobbie Winter-Burke
Christ’s College Library
The Classical Faculty Library
Newnham College Library
Pembroke College Library
St. John’s College Library
Trinity College Library
